ARTICLE TOOLS

Print this article Bookmark this article

Walk into any bookstore and you'll find that Americans really are a very "religious" people. For all the happiness the material world supposedly gives us, people today are increasingly interested in the New Age movement, Wicca, Gnosticism, and other encounters with the supernatural.

This is unfortunate, as mystical experiences should be prevalent in Christianity itself. Christians receive the Holy Spirit and thus encounter the supernatural, even in this life. But mystic practices once considered essential to the practice of the faith are now viewed with sufficient skepticism to seem outside the bounds of Christianity. When the modern Gnostic movement claims perfectly orthodox doctrine to be "suppressed practices" of "lost Christianities," public perception of our faith must be horribly skewed.

So what is Christian mysticism, if it is so important to our spiritual lives? Chuck Smith Jr. in Leadership describes a Christian mystical experience as a direct experience with God ("God-encounter") coming through a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit. This distinguishes it from other "mystical experiences" drawn from other faith practices (and/or drug-induced euphoria). Christian mysticism can come in the form of grand visions of the sort witnessed by Isaiah or Paul, or in much subtler ways, with the Spirit providing new insight into oft-read texts.

The Enlightenment dealt a dual blow to these experiences. The first blow simply denied the supernatural. Still today, the effective disbelief in the supernatural so permeates "respectable" culture that attempts to claim the existence of "God-encounters" are sometimes met with derision, even among faithful Christians. The subtler blow was the increased realization that other religions, too, had mystical traditions. So Christians, not wanting to grant the practices of Indian tribes or Sufi mystics legitimacy, backed away from similar practices in their own faith.

With today's hostile atmosphere toward these practices, it is helpful to remember that skepticism toward mystical experiences is not new. Even in supposedly more gullible times, one medieval monk records the case of a "nun of great distinction" who claimed that her sisters' mystical visions were the result of illness—until she had one herself. It is appropriate to view claims of the supernatural with healthy skepticism and discernment: Visions that seem to contradict the truths of the faith are most likely not of God. Having a "biblical framework for God encounters," as Smith suggests, is crucial for examining the validity of these experiences.

We can also look into history of the church to see how mystic practice was carried out—and judged—among believers. The early church fathers continually pointed to the supernatural reality of God, which could only be accessed by prayer. Medieval mysticism developed a greater emphasis on visions, but still focused on prayer as a primary path to "union with God"—their ultimate goal.

Mystical experiences were varied, and different practitioners experienced "union" in different ways. Even the scholarly Thomas Aquinas was surprised by a mystical experience toward the end of his life. But all were similar in one respect: They pointed to Christ and the love he showered upon them. Since the mystical experiences were gifts from God, they reminded the recipients of their dependence on Christ, rather than leading to feelings of arrogance or confidence in their own superiority.

Mysticism nearly always resulted in reform movements. A common perception is that mystics draw away from material things to seek God, and that monasticism, while encouraging mysticism, directed its practitioners away from caring for the world. The medieval mystics, by contrast, were continually involved in worldly issues, from care of the poor to papal politics. Francis of Assisi provides one of the more clear examples; Catherine of Siena, arguably the premier woman mystic of the period, is another. Both were classic cases of the mystical experience directing and supporting ministry, not detracting from it.

Mysticism has been a powerful force in shaping Christian spirituality, with people as diverse as the original desert fathers to Blaise Pascal seeking to know God in deeper ways than reason can provide. It has also provided the spark for reform movements, giving the church a prophetic voice in times of trial. The work of Richard Foster and others has helped kindle interest in how previous generations of Christians met God. In the area of mysticism, particularly, we have much to learn from them.

Will Reaves, a recent Wheaton College graduate, works as a freelancer for Christianity Today International and Tyndale House Publishers.